The invention is in the field of mobile equipment for cleaning bulk and particulate materials from railcars, truck trailers, and containers. The mobile equipment includes a motor vehicle or truck having an air cleaning apparatus and a lift device for moving a work person carrier and work person on the carrier to a location within the chamber of the railcar or container to enable the work person to control the location of an air hose to move particulate materials from the chamber through an open bottom gate into a box for holding the particulate materials.
Mobile pneumatic granular material conveying systems are used to unload and transport granular materials from vehicles, such as railcars, barges, and ship holds, to storage silos and factories. G. V. Aalst in U.S. Pat. No. 4,659,262 describes such a mobile pneumatic granular material conveying system having an articulated vacuum arm supporting a hose for carrying material from an intake nozzle to a material storage tank. An operator located near the material storage structure uses a remote control device to position the vacuum arm to locate the nozzle in the material so that the material is drawn into the hose and transported to a storage tank. A vacuum machine and boom mounted on a motor truck is disclosed by H. J. Davis in U.S. Pat. No. 5,142,732. The boom supports a material pick up hose and a bulk material separator operable to remove heavy bulk materials without materially reducing the vacuum in the hose. These vacuum conveying and boom structures do not allow the work person to be positioned in the chamber or space being cleaned during the cleaning process. The work person is not in a position that allows for visual inspection of the chamber and movement of the air hose to a location to effectively and efficiently remove particulate materials from the chamber of a railcar or container. Railcars have bottom gates that allow the bulk load carried by the railcar to be unloaded by allowing the load to flow down. Residual load or particulate materials adhere to the walls of the railcar or remain in the chamber of the railcar. The residual particulate material are removed from the chamber of the railcar with the air cleaning apparatus of the invention and collected in a box located below the railcar.
The invention is a method and apparatus for cleaning chambers and spaces of railcars, truck trailers, containers, and structures for accommodating bulk or particulate materials, such as grain, sand, plastic pellets, ore and fly ash. The work person has direct visual inspection and control of the cleaning operation to efficiently and effectively remove particulate materials from the chambers. A motor truck is used to transport an air cleaner and movable lift device supporting a work person carrier, such as a basket used to support a work person. The truck is driven to a location adjacent an open top railcar, truck trailer, or container having a chamber with residual particulate materials. The air cleaner has an elongated hose that is extended into the chamber. The hose has an air outlet opening which functions as a nozzle to direct a stream of air at particulate materials in the chamber and move the particulate materials to a box used to store the particulate materials. The box is located below the open bottom opening of the structure. The lift device is operable to position the work person carrier and work person thereon within the chamber to allow the work person to visually locate and manipulate the position of the hose and its air outlet opening adjacent the particulate material so that the particulate material is moved with the air through the open bottom opening. This allows the work person to clean the railcar chamber in minimum time and will reduce labor.
The air cleaner has a motor driven fan operable to move air through a hose and discharge a stream of air through an outlet opening at the remote end of the hose to transport particulate material to a box located below the bottom opening. The lift device has a stand mounted on the truck. A first or main boom pivotally connected to the stand is selectively raised and lowered with a first hydraulic cylinder. A second boom is pivotally connected to the outer or remote end of the main boom. A second hydraulic cylinder is pivotally connected to the main boom and a toggle linkage. The toggle linkage has pairs of links pivotally connected to the first and second booms. The second cylinder operates to move the toggle linkage to a folded position to move the second boom to an extended position relative to the first boom. When the second cylinder is elongated the toggle linkage is extended and moves the second boom to a folded storage position adjacent a side of the first boom. The work person on the work person carrier located in the chamber of the railcar operates controls mounted on the second boom to actuate the first and second cylinders and a turntable operable to swing the lift device about an upright axis. The work person operates the controls to change the up, down, and lateral locations of the work person carrier. The work person on the carrier manipulates the hose to clear the chamber of the railcar or container of particulate material and visually observe the cleaning of the chamber. The hose can be attached to the second boom or work person carrier to permit the movement of the second boom to change the location of the hose relative to the chamber of the railcar.